The Florida Gators came out on top of the series opener against Texas A&M on Friday, but a 6-5 finish was a much tighter margin than anyone expected after jumping out to an early 4-0 lead.
BT Riopelle homered twice, driving in Josh Rivera in the second. His second homer of the night put Florida out in front by a run, but Cade Kurland’s solo shot in the seventh was the difference in the game.
Jac Caglianone also drove in Kurland for a run in the third, and Tyler Shelnut scored Riopelle with a sacrifice fly in the third. Caglianone is still sitting on 26 home runs this season after going 0 for 4 tonight.
Brandon Sproat was sharp for the first three innings of the night but struggled through the middle third of the game and was pulled after 5 1/3 innings.
Jace LaViolette got to him first in the fourth for a solo shot, and Trevor Werner delivered a game-tying three-run home run in the fifth. Sproat’s night came to an end in the sixth after allowing two runners to reach base.
Cade Fisher took over for Sproat and gave up a run on error at shortstop, and a single brought Kevin O’Sullivan back out to make another change. Ryan Slater came in and got the final out of the inning, but Florida was now down a run.
Slater turned the ball over to Phillip Abner in the seventh, and he worked until the ninth. Brandon Neely came in for another save, walked two and then got the job done to secure a tight victory in game No. 1 of this series.
Using so many bullpen arms on Friday doesn’t bode well for Sunday, but Florida can win the series tomorrow and render that point moot to an extent. Neely hasn’t missed a beat since his short NCAA-mandated vacation, and BT Riopelle has been locked in since Florida moved everyone in the order down a spot and Kurland back to the top.
Speaking of Kurland, the freshman is now at 14 home runs on the year and seems like a no-doubt All-Freshman Team selection this season.
The Gators are back at it on Saturday at 6 p.m. EDT to go for the series win against the Aggies.
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